Denmark plans to abolish the value-added tax on books in effort to get more people reading. The Guardian reported that, at 25%, the country's tax rate on books is the highest in the world, a policy the government believes is contributing to a growing "reading crisis."
By comparison, VAT on books is 14% in Finland, 6% in Sweden, and zero in Norway. Sweden reduced its VAT on books in 2001, "resulting in a rise in book sales, but analysis found they were bought by existing readers," the Guardian noted. Other Nordic countries also charge a standard rate of 25% VAT, but it does not apply to books.
Culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said the government would propose in its budget bill that the tax on books be removed, a decision that is expected to cost 330 million kroner (about $51 million) a year.
"This is something that I, as minister of culture, have worked for, because I believe that we must put everything at stake if we are to end the reading crisis that has unfortunately been spreading in recent years," he told the Ritzau news agency. "I am incredibly proud. It is not every day that one succeeds in convincing colleagues that such massive money should be spent on investing in the consumption and culture of the Danes."
He added: "It is also about getting literature out there. That is why we have already allocated money for strengthened cooperation between the country's public libraries and schools, so that more children can be introduced to good literature."
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Waterstones is opening 10 new stores per year in the U.K. and is "considering new kinds of locations, from inside department stores to parts of the country where it is less well known, such as Northern Ireland and Scotland," the Guardian reported, adding that the chain "is enjoying strong sales as younger adults embrace reading as an escape from their screens and as online competition eases."
"People have come back to reading and buying books in bookshops as we have made a place which is an enjoyable and effective way to buy books," said CEO James Daunt of the retailer, which operates 320 U.K. bookshops, owns the Foyles, Hatchards and Blackwell's names, and whose parent group also owns Barnes & Noble.
Waterstones' sales revenues are up 5%, about half of which is due to higher prices with the rest a result of selling "lots and lots of books," Daunt noted, adding that social media is influencing younger adults to buy books.
"They want to do something not staring at a screen and relatively inexpensive, and once people start collecting books they just buy more," Daunt says. "BookTok is an easy label to put on it, but this is about people wanting to read and talk about books."
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Congratulations to Flying Books in Toronto, Ont., Canada, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. Quill & Quire reported that founder and publishing industry veteran Martha Sharpe "credits the growth of her business over the last 10 years--from one table-top bookshelf in a downtown Toronto store to a two-storefront retail operation, publishing house, writing school, and mentorship program--to a very simple choice she continues to make: not saying no."
In 2015, Sharpe began her journey to bring books to more downtown spaces by building a bookshelf in the Weekend Variety, an art and gift shop owned by the late gallerist Katharine Mulherin,.
"An opportunity presents itself and you can say, in that moment, no--or you can say, well, hold on, maybe, and then you just keep going and you keep not saying no, and that's what happened. Maybe the biggest risk ever was building a shelf in the house I was renting, and saying, 'I'm going to do this,' " Sharpe said, adding: "That's the thing about a 10th anniversary, or any anniversary: it lets you pause, and go, wow. This is here because you guys keep coming here, and it definitely wouldn't be here if it weren't for that." --Robert Gray